Grado Prestige Gold4 Phono Cartridge
✔ 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee — Try it risk-free for 60 days
✔ Free Shipping on orders over $49
✔ Financing Available — Pay over time | Learn more
✔ Price Guarantee — We match authorized dealer pricing | Details
✔ Expert Help — Call us at 800-942-0220 weekdays 9am–6pm EST
Delivery and Shipping
Delivery and Shipping
- Audio Advisor will ship products anywhere in the United States, including Alaska, Hawaii, and U.S. Territories.
- For more information, visit our Delivery & Shipping Policies.
Grado Prestige Gold4 Phono Cartridge
Grado Prestige Gold4 Moving Iron Phono Cartridge
What You Need to Know
The Best of Grado’s Legendary Prestige Series
The Grado Prestige Gold4 Moving Iron Phono Cartridge is the flagship of Grado’s hand-built Prestige line, and the best-sounding cartridge Grado makes with a user-replaceable stylus. Assembled at Grado’s family-owned Brooklyn factory, the Gold4 borrows build techniques from Grado’s cost-no-object Lineage Series to deliver remarkable warmth, detail, and musicality.
For decades the Prestige Gold has been one of the most recommended cartridges in hi-fi—the Gold4 is the finest version yet.
OTL Cantilever Technology
The Gold4 features a four-piece OTL (Optimized Transmission Line) cantilever assembly, with a Grado-specific elliptical diamond mounted on a brass bushing. This design transfers groove information to the generator with less loss and smearing than conventional one-piece cantilevers.
You’ll hear crisper transients, cleaner detail, and a more focused, dimensional soundstage.
Precision-Machined Generator with Lineage-Series Coils
Unlike the standard Prestige models, the Gold4’s generator is precision-machined to tighter tolerances, and its coils are wound with ultra-high-purity copper using techniques developed for Grado’s flagship Lineage Series—for lower distortion, better channel matching, and greater transparency.
Moving Iron Design: The Best of Both Worlds
Joseph Grado’s patented flux-bridger moving iron generator keeps the coils fixed while an ultra-low-mass iron element moves in the magnetic field—moving coil speed and detail with the easy compatibility and 4.0mV output of a moving magnet.
User-Replaceable, Upgradeable Stylus
The Gold4’s stylus replaces in seconds with no tools—no re-tipping service or downtime. It also fits every other Prestige Series cartridge, making it the ultimate upgrade for Green4 and Red4 owners.
Hand-Built in Brooklyn, New York
Every Prestige Gold4 is assembled and tested by hand at Grado Labs in Brooklyn—some of Grado’s craftspeople have been building cartridges for over 25 years.
Building Your System
The Gold4 works with any turntable with a standard MM phono input, and its light tracking force is gentle on records. It’s also available in a P-mount version for compatible tonearms.
It’s the natural choice for quality turntables that deserve better than a stock cartridge—and a proven crowd-pleaser across every musical genre.
Features & Specifications
Four-Piece OTL Cantilever with Brass Bushing
Grado-specific elliptical diamond for crisper transients and cleaner detail.
Precision-Machined Generator
Tighter tolerances than standard Prestige models for lower distortion.
Lineage-Series Coil Winding
Ultra-high-purity copper coils for superior channel matching and transparency.
Flux-Bridger Moving Iron Design
Moving coil speed and detail with moving magnet convenience.
User-Replaceable, Interchangeable Stylus
Swap in seconds—also the top upgrade stylus for Green4 and Red4.
Hand-Built in Brooklyn, USA
Assembled and tested at Grado’s family-owned factory, est. 1953.
Specifications
• Type: High Output Moving Iron (MI)
• Stylus: Grado-Specific Elliptical Diamond (user-replaceable)
• Cantilever: Four-Piece OTL with Brass Bushing
• Output: 4.0mV
• Load Impedance: 10k–47k ohms (standard MM input)
• Mounting: Standard ½-inch (P-mount version available)
• Tracking Force: 1.6–1.9 grams
• Weight: 6 grams
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a special phono preamp?
No. The Gold4’s 4.0mV high output works with any standard moving magnet (MM) phono input.
How does the Gold4 compare to the Red4?
The Gold4 adds the OTL cantilever assembly, a precision-machined generator, and Lineage-style coil winding—clearly more detail, refinement, and dimensionality.
How does it compare to the Timbre Series Opus4?
The Opus4 steps up to a hand-carved maple wood body for even richer tone. The Gold4 counters with a user-replaceable stylus and outstanding value.
Who is the Gold4 designed for?
It’s ideal for vinyl enthusiasts who want maximum musicality with the convenience of a stylus they can replace themselves.
Why Audio Advisor?
• 40+ Years of Expertise – Helping music lovers build better systems since 1981.
• 60-Day Money-Back Guarantee – Hear it in your own system with confidence.
• Real Product Experts – Friendly advice before and after your purchase.
• Free Shipping – On qualifying orders over $49.
• Flexible Financing – Convenient payment options available.
- Top of the Grado Prestige Series — above the Red4 and Green4, incorporating upgrades not present in those models.
- Four-piece OTL (Optimized Transmission Line) cantilever — four sections of different alloys telescoped and bonded with resonance-absorbing material. Suppresses resonances at the junctions between sections for a quieter background, wider soundstage, and greater retrieval of groove detail.
- Grado-specific elliptical diamond stylus mounted on a brass bushing — a diamond profile selected by Grado to work in combination with the OTL cantilever. Brass bushing provides a controlled, stable stylus-to-cantilever interface.
- Machined turned generator — CNC-machined to tight dimensional tolerances for lower distortion and greater transparency than the cast generators used in the lower Prestige models.
- Ultra high purity copper coils wound using techniques developed during the Lineage Series — achieves electrical unison between the four coils for improved channel balance and signal cleanliness.
- Twin magnet flux-bridger moving iron (MI) design — stationary coils, moving iron element. Extremely low moving mass. Four magnetic gaps for high efficiency and low inductance.
- Insensitive to tonearm cable capacitance — compatible with any standard MM phono input at 47kΩ. No step-up transformer or MC gain required.
- User-replaceable stylus — snaps on and off without tools in under a minute. Replace a worn stylus without replacing the cartridge body.
- Prestige Series stylus cross-compatibility — all Grado Prestige styli fit any Prestige body, enabling stylus upgrades (including Joseph Grado Signature styli) without replacing the cartridge.
- Die-injection molded housing for consistent acoustic behavior and reliable assembly.
- Hand-built in Brooklyn, New York by experienced assemblers — some with over 25 years building Grado cartridges.
- Type: Moving iron (high output), twin magnet flux-bridger generator
- Cantilever: Four-piece OTL (Optimized Transmission Line)
- Stylus: Grado-specific elliptical diamond on brass bushing
- Output voltage: 4.0mV @ 5 CMV (45 degrees)
- Frequency response: 10 Hz–55 kHz
- Channel separation: Average 25 dB (10–30 kHz)
- Input load: 10k–47kΩ
- Inductance: 50mH
- DC resistance: 660Ω
- Compliance: 20 μm/mN
- Recommended tracking force: 1.6–1.9g
- Cartridge weight: 6g
- Stylus: User-replaceable; cross-compatible with all Grado Prestige Series styli
- Internal signal path: Ultra high purity copper, Lineage Series coil-winding technique
- Housing: Die-injection molded plastic
- Country of origin: USA (Brooklyn, NY)
Payment & Security
Payment methods
Your payment information is processed securely. We do not store credit card details nor have access to your credit card information.
